What sustainability means to us

Sustainability is part of our identity. Our pharmaceuticals and natural skin care are not only good for you. We are striving to make our business even more future-proof and sustainable and care for biodiversity and healthy soils.

We take our responsibility seriously

We are a sustainable company and have received many awards for our dedication. We promote biodynamic agriculture, healthy soils and equitable relationships with our cultivation partners worldwide. Just as biodiversity is of vital importance to us, so is having a comprehensive climate protection strategy. In this area, we take a proactive approach to our responsibility. We act in a way that is socially responsible, ecologically sound and economically successful.

Moderation and resilience

We conduct our business with a sense of moderation in all we do. We only want to take as much from nature as we can give back. In fact, we aim to give even more back than we take – that’s what sustainability is all about for us. In some areas of our business we are already doing very well, and in other areas we are working intensively to improve. Sustainability has a lot to do with resilience. As a company, we are building resilience at different levels. Our biodynamic gardens and raw material projects around the world support the resilience of soils and local ecosystems. We also build resilience on a social level, by treating our long-standing cultivation partners with respect, paying fair wages and supporting social projects.

My personal approach to sustainability is that the more resilient we are, the more sustainable we are.
Dr. Stefan Siemer, Head of Sustainability
94
percent of waste is reused (e.g. through composting, repurposing, recycling, recovery, thermal use)
80
percent of the plant-based raw materials are organic
92
percent of renewable electricity was used at Weleda worldwide in 2021 (all buildings, owned and leased)
45
percent of primary packaging for our cosmetics was recycled in 2021 (based on the weight of all packaging produced by us including the closure system)

Doing even more

When Weleda was founded in 1921, it was clear from the outset that the way we do business should be in harmony with people and nature. Today we are working to improve biodiversity and the health of the natural environment.

Not only are we aware of our responsibility, we also want to actively drive the change to a more sustainable and socially responsible way of doing business. We are open to new impulses and partner with like-minded people in other businesses and organisations. Among other things, we support the Soil Fertility Fund of the Swiss Organic Foundation. Because only together will we be able to take on all the challenges and truly make a difference.

Nature is asking us to be a good partner.
Ueli Hurter, Biodynamic Farmer and Member of the Weleda Board of Directors

We want a world that is better with Weleda

Is it enough for us to produce fewer emissions or increase the recycled content of our packaging? We don’t think so. We know there are many examples that a world with Weleda is better than without Weleda. For instance, through biodynamic farming and our commitment to healthy soils. In other areas, such as packaging, we still have work to do, and have set new ambitious targets. We are doing all we can to ensure that the overall balance of our economic activity becomes more positive.

Recognition of our sustainability commitment 

We are proud to have received numerous awards:

  • Sustainable Beauty Awards

  • Green Brands Award

  • Swiss Ethics Award

  • German Sustainability Award

  • Good Brand Award for sustainable packaging

  • Numerous other awards for our certified natural cosmetics

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Our raw materials are sourced ethically and sustainably

We are committed to ensuring that our raw materials are ethically sourced. That’s why we have been certified since 2018 by the Union for Ethical BioTrade.

We strive to continuously improve our packaging

Why do we use plastic packaging? Because so far, there’s no perfect solution for all our products. But we are working hard to make our packaging even better, to reduce its impact on the environment.

We care for biodiversity around the world

In producing our natural skin care and pharmaceutical products, we treat the earth’s resources with care at every step – starting with the seeds that we plant. In doing so, we are protecting biodiversity and nurturing healthy soils around the world.

Why do we use palm oil?

We are committed to the sustainable cultivation of palm oil

Weleda receives B Corp certification

Weleda has been committed to nature and society for 100 years. The international non-profit    B Lab has now certified that we are making the world a better place through our corporate culture.

How Weleda is changing the world

Weleda is now a certified B Corp. In this interview we speak about the certification process, the high standards of the issuing organisation, and the reasons that led us to take this step.